Federal Grant Fraud

The United States government provides millions of dollars of government grant money to educational and research institutions each year through federal research grants. Unfortunately, some who receive these research awards engage in federal grant fraud. The federal research grant funds come with restrictions, however, dictating how the money can be used as well as imposing administrative and accounting obligations for the government grant money. Because grants for research are awarded by the federal government, false or fraudulent conduct used to obtain or administer the federal research grant funds may violate the civil False Claims Act. Whistleblower lawsuits under the civil False Claims Act have been one of the tools used in the fight against federal grant fraud.

In the past, institutions have engaged in federal grant scams which may be actionable under the civil False Claims Act including: